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FLOWERING GARDEN BIKE and Porch Design

This is an exciting day for me! I was recently invited to be on a local TV Channel's mid-day Variety Show. They asked me to stage a fresh SPRING PORCH. Well, everyone in my neighborhood knows that I'm kind of a Porch junkie! I'm known as the "lady with the decorated porch" around here. haha.

I had this crazy idea to turn an old bike into a planter, and when I suggested that to the producers, they loved the idea...and this project is what I ended up doing.

So, you can check out my TV segment online HERE!. Though I filmed the segment last week, it just aired today. (I'd been anxiously awaiting the airing all weekend because I wasn't able to see any of the segment that day.) I only knew how it went, though I probably even forgot some of that. It goes by REALLY fast!

I'm including the directions here, as well as tips and more info (following the photos). I'm sure as the next couple of days go by I'll even be updating even more. If you have questions, please feel free to comment and I'll answer as quickly as I can. I love this project, and I would really love to see these colorful painted bikes popping up in yards everywhere!

First, here is a pic of the whole porch set-up that I did.

And some more close-ups of some of the elements other than the bike:

Here are some more close-up pics of the bike:

Here are some pics of the other elements:

I included a link to download this image in a previous post. You can find it here.

This is what the bike looked like after I stripped it down, with the baskets added, but no paint yet. You can see the ends of the zip-ties hanging off because I'd not clipped them just yet.

BIKE SCULPTURE TUTORIAL:

Before you begin, you’ll want
to decide where your bike will be placed. Is it going to be on a porch? Next to
a fence? Planted in your garden? The location will determine what you will
plant in it, which will also determine what type of baskets you will need.

PROCESS:

NOTE: If you are using an
antique bike that has a lot of character and patina, I recommend that you leave
it AS IS and just find baskets and attach them. If you are using a “modern” bike, then follow
the steps below

Tools you will need:

Work Gloves

Wire Cutters

Socket Wrench set

Allen Wrench set

Pliers

Screwdrivers

Zip-ties (Outdoor type)

Spray Paint

**WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES!!

DISASSEMBLY:

1) Remove the seat.

2) Remove the wheels.

3) Remove the rubber tires
and tubes from the wheels.

4) Remove the chains from the
gears, and then break one of the links of the chain to completely remove it.
This is easiest with two small flat head screw drivers pushed against the
insides of a gear to “snap it” open.

5) Remove the reflectors from
the wheels (pushing opposite ways against the sides if it doesn’t have a screw).

6) Unscrew all the gear
mechanisms, and pull the wires out along the way, cutting if needed with the
wire cutters.

7) Remove all other
components of the bike taking it down to just the frame and the gears.

REASSEMBLE:

1) Re-attach the wheels, and
the seat, if using.

2) Attach chosen baskets with
zip ties to various parts of the bike.

3) If attaching baskets to
the pedals, make sure to use zip-ties to hold the pedal assembly in place next
to the frame.

**MAKE SURE TO USE A
HIGH-QUALITY POTTING SOIL! This is not a situation where you can get away with
the cheap stuff. You need water retention and fertilizer components added
because of the extra exposure to air.

PLANT SUGGESTIONS:

Any drought tolerant plants

Geraniums

Portulaca

Bacopa

Verbena

Million Bells

Morning Glory

Sweet Potato Vine

Asparagus Fern

Succulents

Any plant that
“vines”…especially if you are using the bike as a “trellis”

TIPS:

~ When looking for a bike,
keep in mind where you want your baskets to be placed on it. A large men’s bike
will have the bar when you can hang things below, where a women’s bike doesn’t
have the same type of space. But a women’s bike can have a basket strung
between the handle and the seat bar.

~ Pay attention to the
handles on the bike you’re looking at. You’ll want to be able to hang a basket
from them.

~ Use the extra holes, loops,
etc on your bike frame to hold baskets in place. Before you remove a component
when stripping the bike, decide whether it would be useful in holding up a
basket.

~ Use a spray paint that
works for plastic as some parts of your bike might be plastic or epoxy-coated.

~Scrape off the stickers if
they are loose, or if you just want them gone. Otherwise the paint will lift
them even more.

~Wash down all parts of the
bike first because paint won’t still to dust and debris.

~To get full coverage, turn
the bike upside down to complete the paint job once you have the sides down.
Don’t forget the insides of the tires
where the rubber used to sit.

~You will need at least 3
cans of spray paint to do an adult bike. 1-2 cans for a child’s size.

~ If you intend to leave your
bike out year round, you will want to spray it with a protective varnish so it
doesn’t rust as easily. Also, if you’re putting it in a garden where it will
get a lot of water, I would suggest making sure you use a varnish to protect
it. Make sure to give it a heavy coat on the wheels where it sits in the dirt.

And as a fun last tidbit, I did a color generator on the bike, and this is what it gave me:

12 comments:

I absolutely ADORE your porch makeover! I am a porch junkie too and a lover of pink so this is right up my alley! I see you are in Utah...me too, Riverton! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous porch project!

Thanks so much Stacy! I'm so glad you like the whole project! I don't know about you, but it makes me happy when I see other houses with decorated porches! I just want to stop and give the owners a high five! So, are you starting to look for a bike of your own to do this with? :)

I have lots of other porch decorations on my blog…make sure to look through it…and still more that I have to get posted. My porch has never been empty for more than a day since I moved in 3 years ago.

I absolutely love this project. I have 2 bicycles that I am in the process of "stripping". My biggest question is how did you cover the seat? I have some shopping bags from TJ Max - did you modpodge the fabric on or what medium is best?

So, I used the utility shopping bag because it's waterproof and it has worked great so far! I cut a square larger than the seat (I had it removed from the bike first), and then I sprayed the seat and the back of the fabric with Spray Adhesive. I used 3-M brand.

Keep in mind that the fabric will not be fully smooth because the fabric they use on seat covers is stretchy. Mine had a few wrinkles on it, but that's life! Once I had it smoothed on, I cut the lower edge down to have just enough to attach on the underside with hot glue.

Another bike lover here. lol! My old bike was aqua but I painted it white last year and planted it red, white, and blue. It was fun, but now I'm ready to paint it back aqua. Love yours all pretty in pink. Perfect for Spring! Thanks for sharing with SYC. I will be featuring you this week.hugs,Jann

Yay! You're the best Jann! Seriously, one of these days we really, really need to meet in person! Thanks so much for featuring my bike! I made her for Studio 5 last year...and she now resides on the side of my house under a little window. I even decorated her with pink balls and lights for Christmas! In the summer, my pink Hydrangeas grow around her. I loved having the whole design on my porch, but I just can't bring myself to "un-plant" her now! I can't wait to see your Aqua bike!

Thanks Lynn! We've had spring early this year in our neck of the woods...most of January and Feb was in the 60's...crazy!! Now I want winter for 2 weeks and then I expect it to be in time for spring in mid-March. Wonder if I'll get my wish?? Thanks for coming to visit!

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Emily, and I love to share my adventures in Decorating, Parties, Thrifting, Crafting, Cooking and all things Creative! I'm glad you're here! Have a look around and enjoy some fun things. Come back often and let me know if I can help you with any of your project ideas!

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